Human Resource
Management Appraches
1. Two traditional approaches in HRD and its
implications:
1.1
Approach to recent developments in critical HRD
research and writing
There is great difficulty in forecasting demand because of the change in the following areas:
· Technological-changes in materials, technical systems and methods of power
· Economic- marketing and capital formation
· Social- population trends, social mobility, and education
· Political- industrial legislation (wages and salaries, monetary policy, training, redundancy)
The advantages of Manpower planning are:
·
The right number of staff is recruited at each
level in the hierarchy
·
Staffing requirements can be better balanced and
movement of staff made easier.
·
Areas of high labor turnover are highlighted
·
Implications of changes in recruitment,
promotion, and succession plans are foreseeable.
Limitations:
·
Detailed records are needed plus expensive
clerical staff.
·
Problems of forecasting changes, especially
technological and government policy areas.
·
Forecasts can be uncertain even for a few years
ahead.
1.2. Formulate personal definition of HRD and
shaping national policies
The traditional attitude to manpower is that it is a cost;
there is greater consideration now towards the idea that it is an investment.
Therefore the best use of this investment should be made so as to ensure that
the manpower achieves personal satisfaction and the company achieves a maximum
returns on the cost.
It is important to stress the problem of uncertainty today;
changes can occur in the following more detailed analysis:
·
Production and sales targets and new products’
·
Plans for diversifying, expanding or contracting
production
·
Centralization or other organizational change
·
Technological changes, e.g. mechanization,
improved methods, new management techniques;
·
Changes in hours of work, holidays, negotiations
with trade unions and collective agreements;
·
National policies regarding taxation and
redundancy
·
Changes within company, e.g. retirements, age
structure, promotions
A company must be able to recruit and retain manpower of the
type and caliber it requires for efficient operation. Change is a dominant
factor today. Processes, products, systems and methods change quickly. The role
of the computer is increasing and there is at present a shortage of system
analysts and programmers, and this will continue for a number of years. New
techniques e.g. operational research, influence the organizational structure of
companies and later the pattern of manning. Some jobs need increased skills, others need
less. Thus a high standard of planning is needed. The rewards to a company are
high as a great reduction in cost is possible; reduction in one area in particular,
labor turnover can save a great deal of money.
The organization should be designed to attain the objectives
of the company. Functional objectives are set and organization planned to
attain them. Each department must be staffed so that the available skills and
abilities are equated with task to be done.
There may be changes in the external markets, in the supply
of local labor skills, changes in comparative earnings for each category of employee.
Other relevant information includes output per man hour and total man hours
available. The manpower plan can then be prepared and will also include
consideration policies on; recruitment; promotion and career planning; training
and development and industrial relations
Reviews of the progress of plans will take place
periodically, with yearly revisions as part of a longer term planning cycle.
Monthly budget statements will be prepared and a comparison of actual and
planned targets will be made and variances noted. Information obtained will be
then fed back to earlier parts of the cycle which may then indicate the need
for the changes in the plans.
1.3 Implications of 2
above for VET Current Policy
Manpower planning should be an integral part of corporate
planning and top management backing is essential. The skills of individuals
must be continually developed in order to meet the needs of technological,
economic, and social change.
The recruitment and selection processes must be continually
reviewed and evaluated, as the cost of the process is high. Many companies’
reports now contain the average numbers of persons employed over the year and
the amount of wages and salaries paid to them. Labor turnover figures may also
give valuable information.
First of all, existing manpower strength and work volume are
analyzed and detailed forecasts made of future work volume is then related to
past ratios to give forecast. This is called ratio trend forecasting.
Another method is called theoretical requirements
forecasting and involves assessing and defining the type and volume of activity
needed to attain desired results. Specific objectives are given to management.
Existing manpower and work volume are compared with forecasted future work
volume and manpower, noting probable changes in the methods. So, for each
category of staff, there is a statement of present and future positions, and
this enables manpower requirements to be calculated.
Personal records must be adequate and kept up to date.
Records containing relevant facts must be easily available; some firms have the
details on computer files.
Employment inventories are useful, and analysis into male
and female just costs-advertising, job categories, part and full time is
needed. The pattern of ages should be noted as it may be that many retiring
shortly or many are ready for promotion. Thus the problems which may arise can
be dealt with if known time. Turnover can be analyzed into reasons for leaving,
length of service, age group and type. The cost of turnover is great.
An ordinary clerical job involves this costs-advertising,
management time on interviewing, temporary help or overtime paid during staff
shortage, reduced output during training time and trainee’s time. This could
easily add up to $2000 per job vacancy. A reduction in job turnover from 10
percent to 5 percent in a firm is an enormous saving.
These changes with International Business Machine and other
UK companies has a five year forward plan, broken about fifteen main occupational groups,
showing numbers to be recruited to
replace predicted staff turnover and to meet the company’s growth plans, which
are based upon market research and product development forecasts. The key is a
very detailed job classification, which is expressed in a four digit code for
computing processing.
1.4 Recommendations:
Manpower planning is part of corporate planning and seeks to
maintain and improve an organization’s ability to achieve corporate objectives
by developing strategies which are designed to increase the present and future
contribution to manpower.
The brief point to consider is;
·
Examine the existing situation to see if manning
effectiveness can be improved;
·
Plan to assess and determine future objectives
of the business;
·
Determine the method of organization needed and
the post needing to be filled;
·
Note the present staff, their potential and
career requirements;
·
Identify requirements for manpower required
2.1 Approaches of recent developments in critical HRD and research
writing:
Arrangement should be made for new
employees to be introduced to the firm and to the job. A new employee must be
shown where his place is in the organization. This service varies greatly among
organization, but a systematic course of induction should cover:
· Human resources policy regarding discipline, education and training and promotion, holidays, method of computation and date of payment of salaries and wages
· Introduction to the new employee’s own department and a detailed summary of department’s work;
Some forms of training are needed to all employees. It may give a wider general knowledge of new
techniques or a broader outlook, but can be most beneficial to employee and
employer.
An effective training program can be:
1.
Improve efficiency and morale;
2.
Introduce new techniques;
3.
Provide for succession, enabling qualified
replacements to be available;
4.
Raise the standard of unskilled personnel, thus
helping overcome labor shortages;
5.
Develop supervisors and decrease the amount of
supervision needed;
6.
Lead to a reduction in scrap rates and improve
machine utilization
Many companies do not regard training as a professional
activity, and in many cases training officers are not themselves trained. Many
courses are held and employees sent to college without any serious thought
being given to real training needs of the company.
After identifying the development needs of the individual
the choice of course must be made. Some firms have noted the waste of money on
external training. Course objectives are often ill defined: these should be
determined together with the staff’s qualifications and experience. Course
literature is more attractive than informative and the training officers need
advice on courses. A system of reporting back after each course is essential.
The report should go to the training officer as well as to the departmental
head. In addition, individuals must be given an opportunity to use knowledge
gain.
Training needs must be assessed to determine:
1.
The jobs for which planned training is required;
2.
The number of people who need to be trained
annually for these jobs;
3.
The standards of training required
When the skills and knowledge required have been noted, a
training program is needed. An essential part of the program is the need to
train instructional staff and design a method of controlling progress. This
program should be of course periodically evaluated. The training officer
therefore, advises management on training policy, basing his advice on training
needs. He analyses job to identify skills; he plans programs and follows them
up. He must be familiar with assessment of training needs and job analysis; he
must know how to plan programs and evaluate cost of training, also he must keep
abreast with methods of training, including program learning.
Training can be considered as the creation of learning opportunities.
The required needs of managers and supervisors can be said
to consist of:
1.
Knowledge. Basic knowledge for the job; this
usually come from education early in his work, or before employment.
2.
Skill and Experience- these are related closely
to the job content. Preparation for new jobs can be made by giving person
assignments, case studies, decision making exercises and management games to
stimulate real conditions. Group projects and role playing can supplement
planned work experience to enable a person to increase his effectiveness.
3.
Attitude- the development and conditioning of
attitudes and patterns of behavior depend more upon a learning experiences. A
person will for example benefit more by experiencing cooperation than reading
about it, and a person’s ability to adapt change, cooperate with others and be
more self confident, comes partly from the work’s situation. The development of
attitudes can be quickened by organizational development training. These
methods, briefly, teach a group to monitor its own performance, identify and
agree problems and their resolution. Other business exercises can be operated
under conditions of stress to improve the effectiveness of the individual, the
group and the company.
Effective learning can take place
according to Bass and Vaughn (1966) when the following four requirements exist:
·
Drive- that is the motivation of the individual
who must accept and be committed to the need of the training;
·
Stimulus – the signal received and interpreted
by a trainee;
·
Response- the behavior resulting from a
stimulus; this can be developed through training
·
Reinforcement- information that the learner
receives giving an indication of progress-ideally as soon as possible to enable
more effective learning to occur.
It is important to note that a training officer must work
closely with the line management in preparing programs of training which meet
the needs of employees and minimize their learning problems.
Education can be considered to be instruction in knowledge
and skills to enable people to be prepared for various roles in society. Its
focus is mainly broadly based for the needs of the individual and to a lesser
extent the needs of society.
Training relates to the acquisition of knowledge and skills
for the purposes of an occupation or task. Its focus is much more narrowly
based than education or development, and is job or task oriented.
Development is concerned more with changes in attitudes
behavior and employee potential than with immediate skill. It relates more
career development than job development. It is a learning activity
concentrating on the future needs of an organization.
2.3 Implications of
VET policy
The main objective is to improve current performance and
provide a suitably trained staff to meet present and future needs. A person’s
knowledge and skills have to be improved and his attitude and behavior modified
by training and development.
The volume of management training and development has
increased greatly in recent years in UK
and other countries and there is a proliferation of course available. These
courses are not necessarily geared to the needs of the individual and,
therefore, before the courses are organized, it is vital to analyze training
needs.
Once the true needs are known the most effective means of
training can be determined. Within the framework of overall manpower needs of
the individual needs, supervisory and management succession plans can be drawn
up. The needs of each individual manager must be considered and his performance
appraised and weakness remedied.
The training should develop knowledge, skills, and
attitudes, through various methods of instruction, demonstration and
experience.
Job Rotation
This can be instituted within the department, within the
company, or within another company. The purpose is to improve a manager’s
understanding of jobs other than his own and provide specific experience which
will equip him for promotion. It is, of course easier to arrange for lower
levels of management. Short periods in different departments were at one time
widely used for induction training but it was never fully satisfactory and led
to a high labor turnover. As the period was short, it did not enable the
trainee to feel a sense of responsibility as he was not responsible for the
results of his decisions.
Projects and Assignments
A good assignment should involve investigations into a
number of departments and can reveal a person’s capabilities. Superiors should
be interested and carefully examines findings. Assignments given into a group
of managers will give a good experience in team working. These courses is adopted on management courses,
where members are split into syndicates to work on a problem, and here the
problems of other departments become known to all.
Job Restructuring
Early management writers proclaim the advantages of specialization,
particularly increased productivity. Some writers like Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels in 1850’s were not so happy with job specialization. They saw division
of work as alienation of the worker which enslaves him instead of being
controlled by him. Other writers have also noted that both the individual and
society would also be affected adversely by too many dull repetitive jobs.
Research studies on the relationship between specialization
and job satisfaction vary in their conclusion although the balance of opinion
seems to indicate that there is a relationship and increased specialization can
lead to job dissatisfaction. Hulin and Blood in Psychological Bulletin (Volume
69, No.1 pp41-53, USA) suggest that workers backgrounds largely determine their
attitude. Those who deem work important and meaningful are aiming to progress
may become dissatisfied in jobs that are specialized. Those employees who are
alienated from work may prefer restricted jobs as they are easier and require
little effort to perform.
2.4 Conclusion and
Recommendation:
Management education deals with the theoretical aspects of
management, usually acquired through formal methods of study. Management
training is concerned with the practical aspects of management and implies
preparation for an occupation or for specific skills and is job oriented than
job orientated, and stresses potential rather than the present skills. It
enhances latent abilities made evident through education and training. Training
can be evaluated effectively if precise training standards are set. The five
levels for achieving results should be noted. There must be scientific approach
to measurement to enable the cost incurred to be justified.
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